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Effects of intermittent modelling on observational learning.

G H Brody¹, B B Lahey, M L Combs

¹University of Georgia.

Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis

|April 1, 1978

Summary

Intermittent modeling, where a model demonstrates behavior inconsistently, effectively teaches social learning. This study shows that 50% and 100% intermittent modeling yield similar learning outcomes in children.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Social Learning Theory
Child Development

Background:

Existing research highlights modeling as a key mechanism for social learning, often without reinforcement.
Previous studies exclusively used consistent models, raising questions about generalizability to real-world, intermittent modeling scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of intermittent modeling on children's social learning.
To determine if consistent modeling findings apply to situations with infrequent demonstrations.

Main Methods:

Three groups of 15 preschoolers (4-5 years old) were exposed to an adult model describing objects.
Modeling conditions varied: no descriptions (control), 50% descriptive adjectives, or 100% descriptive adjectives.
Children's use of descriptive adjectives was measured before and after the modeling exposure.

Main Results:

Children in both intermittent modeling groups (50% and 100%) significantly increased their use of descriptive adjectives.
The no-modeling control group showed no significant increase in adjective use.
No significant difference in learning outcomes was observed between the 50% and 100% intermittent modeling groups.

Conclusions:

Intermittent modeling is an effective method for social learning in children.
Findings suggest that research on consistent modeling is generalizable to naturalistic settings with intermittent modeling.
The frequency of modeling (50% vs. 100%) did not impact the extent of social learning observed.

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